NFL coaches value face-to-face interviews with draft prospects at the scouting combine

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — DeMeco Ryans has experienced the NFL scouting combine as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

He values the opportunity to meet draft prospects this week.

“It’s being able to sit down across from the player face to face and be able to hear their story, hear their background, their upbringing, but also getting to feel their energy,” Ryans said. “Feel their passion and love for the game of football. It comes off in those 15-minute interviews and I can feel that energy very instantly.”

A second-round pick by Houston in 2006, Ryans was a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker in six seasons with the Texans and four with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his coaching career as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers from in 2017 before going back to Houston to serve as head coach.

A total of 329 college players were invited to the combine to showcase their skills in front of general managers, coaches, scouts and other team personnel. They’ll endure medical evaluations and rounds of interviews with various teams.

For Ryans and many coaches, those conversations are vital. Scouts will dissect the 40-yard dash times, the vertical jump and all the other measurables.

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But the interviews determine the intangibles like heart, character, leadership ability.

“I can’t replace that face-to-face energy and human element that is so important,” Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “I’m hard-pressed with how important the decisions are for the fabric of your team when it comes to the NFL draft. Everybody can do it a different way. I need to see people in person for me to kind of complete the whole picture of what I’m seeing on film.”

Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay again are skipping the combine this year, relying instead on their scouting department. But they’ll still get a chance to interview players on formal visits.

The nature of interviews has been scrutinized over the years because there were instances where players were questioned about their sexual preference or whether their mother worked as a prostitute.

NFL executive Troy Vincent sharply criticized the process a few years ago and the league has warned teams they could be fined and forfeit draft picks for any conduct that is “ disrespectful, inappropriate, or unprofessional” during an interview.

Ryans makes sure prospects have a pleasant experience because he knows what it’s like going through all of these interviews.

“A meeting with the Texans here at the combine, we hope it comes off as very loose,” he said. “We’re not trying to grill guys too much. I want to make them at ease because I remember being here at the combine where I had some of those meetings where they were very tense. And so, I just want to make sure guys are at ease and they’re comfortable and we just get to know the person. That’s the main thing. We get a chance to watch as much tape as we can on these guys. But it’s really just sit down, helmet off and let’s know your background, let’s know why do you love the game of football and what’s your why? Those are the things that we ask our guys and we get a lot of insightful comments from guys from asking those questions.”

The combine has evolved from when it launched inside a hotel in 1982 mainly to bring prospects to one location so teams could gather medical information. It’s become a moneymaking machine for the league and a television spectacle with several days of live coverage.

“The No. 1 thing would be having a chance to visit these guys in person,” Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “Remember the beginning of the combine was to combine medical information. That was the purpose of it. As a league, all the teams were going to see these guys and asking them to basically get looked at multiple times. Then they ran them on a 40 and then we had some other drills and then we said, ‘Let’s interview them.’ It’s grown. I would say for me, it’s having a conversation in a 20-minute time frame. Maybe an informal conversation, but putting a face with the name and film we are going to study. We will get this all on video, but that is one part of it. Then (No.) 2, seeing them in person.”

Defensive backs and tight ends kicked off the workouts Thursday after first meeting with the media. Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, spoke to reporters but will wait to do drills at his pro day. Hunter had the largest group surrounding him when he spoke in the morning, saying he plans to play cornerback and wide receiver.

As for his personality, Hunter said: “Everybody knows that I can light up a room just by walking in it. I always have a smile on face. I bring the excitement.”

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